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  1. Pérez-Pons ME, Alonso RS, García O, Marreiros G, Corchado JM
    Sensors (Basel), 2021 Aug 04;21(16).
    PMID: 34450717 DOI: 10.3390/s21165276
    Yearly population growth will lead to a significant increase in agricultural production in the coming years. Twenty-first century agricultural producers will be facing the challenge of achieving food security and efficiency. This must be achieved while ensuring sustainable agricultural systems and overcoming the problems posed by climate change, depletion of water resources, and the potential for increased erosion and loss of productivity due to extreme weather conditions. Those environmental consequences will directly affect the price setting process. In view of the price oscillations and the lack of transparent information for buyers, a multi-agent system (MAS) is presented in this article. It supports the making of decisions in the purchase of sustainable agricultural products. The proposed MAS consists of a system that supports decision-making when choosing a supplier on the basis of certain preference-based parameters aimed at measuring the sustainability of a supplier and a deep Q-learning agent for agricultural future market price forecast. Therefore, different agri-environmental indicators (AEIs) have been considered, as well as the use of edge computing technologies to reduce costs of data transfer to the cloud. The presented MAS combines price setting optimizations and user preferences in regards to accessing, filtering, and integrating information. The agents filter and fuse information relevant to a user according to supplier attributes and a dynamic environment. The results presented in this paper allow a user to choose the supplier that best suits their preferences as well as to gain insight on agricultural future markets price oscillations through a deep Q-learning agent.
  2. Zukerman-Schpector J, Dias CDS, Schwab RS, Jotani MM, Tiekink ERT
    Acta Crystallogr E Crystallogr Commun, 2018 Sep 01;74(Pt 9):1195-1200.
    PMID: 30225098 DOI: 10.1107/S2056989018010885
    The title compound, C12H10N4O, comprises a central 1,2,3-triazole ring (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0030 Å) flanked by N-bound 4-cyano-phenyl and C-bound acetyl groups, which make dihedral angles of 54.64 (5) and 6.8 (3)° with the five-membered ring, indicating a twisted mol-ecule. In the crystal, the three-dimensional architecture is sustained by carbonyl-C=O⋯π(triazo-yl), cyano-C≡N⋯π(triazo-yl) (these inter-actions are shown to be attractive based on non-covalent inter-action plots) and π-π stacking inter-actions [inter-centroid separation = 3.9242 (9) Å]. An analysis of the Hirshfeld surface shows the important contributions made by H⋯H (35.9%) and N⋯H (26.2%) contacts to the overall surface, as well as notable contributions by O⋯H (9.9%), C⋯H (8.7%), C⋯C (7.3%) and C⋯N (7.2%) contacts.
  3. Caracelli I, Zukerman-Schpector J, Schwab RS, da Silva EM, Jotani MM, Tiekink ERT
    Acta Crystallogr E Crystallogr Commun, 2019 Aug 01;75(Pt 8):1232-1238.
    PMID: 31417798 DOI: 10.1107/S2056989019010284
    The di-substituted acetyl-ene residue in the title compound, C11H11NO3, is capped at either end by di-methyl-hydroxy and 4-nitro-benzene groups; the nitro substituent is close to co-planar with the ring to which it is attached [dihedral angle = 9.4 (3)°]. The most prominent feature of the mol-ecular packing is the formation, via hy-droxy-O-H⋯O(hy-droxy) hydrogen bonds, of hexa-meric clusters about a site of symmetry . The aggregates are sustained by 12-membered {⋯OH}6 synthons and have the shape of a flattened chair. The clusters are connected into a three-dimensional architecture by benzene-C-H⋯O(nitro) inter-actions, involving both nitro-O atoms. The aforementioned inter-actions are readily identified in the calculated Hirshfeld surface. Computational chemistry indicates there is a significant energy, primarily electrostatic in nature, associated with the hy-droxy-O-H⋯O(hy-droxy) hydrogen bonds. Dispersion forces are more important in the other identified but, weaker inter-molecular contacts.
  4. Wang D, Mohammad M, Wang Y, Tan R, Murray LS, Ricardo S, et al.
    Kidney Int Rep, 2017 Jul;2(4):739-748.
    PMID: 29142990 DOI: 10.1016/j.ekir.2017.03.004
    Introduction: X-linked Alport syndrome (OMIM 301050) is caused by COL4A5 missense variants in 40% of families. This study examined the effects of chemical chaperone treatment (sodium 4-phenylbutyrate) on fibroblast cell lines derived from men with missense mutations.

    Methods: Dermal fibroblast cultures were established from 2 affected men and 3 normals. Proliferation rates were examined, the collagen IV α5 chain localized with immunostaining, and levels of the intra- and extracellular chains quantitated with an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. COL4A5 mRNA was measured using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) size was measured on electron micrographs and after HSP47 immunostaining. Markers of ER stress (ATF6, HSPA5, DDIT3), autophagy (ATG5, BECN1, ATG7), and apoptosis (CASP3, BAD, BCL2) were also quantitated by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Measurements were repeated after 48 hours of incubation with 10 mM sodium 4-phenylbutyrate acid.

    Results: Both COL4A5 missense variants were associated with reduced proliferation rates on day 6 (P = 0.01 and P = 0.03), ER enlargement, and increased mRNA for ER stress and autophagy (all P values < 0.05) when compared with normal. Sodium 4-phenylbutyrate treatment increased COL4A5 transcript levels (P < 0.01), and reduced ER size (P < 0.01 by EM and P < 0.001 by immunostaining), ER stress (p HSPA5 and DDIT3, all P values < 0.01) and autophagy (ATG7, P < 0.01). Extracellular collagen IV α5 chain was increased in the M1 line only (P = 0.06).

    Discussion: Sodium 4-phenylbutyrate increases collagen IV α5 mRNA levels, reduces ER stress and autophagy, and possibly facilitates collagen IV α5 extracellular transport. Whether these actions delay end-stage renal failure in men with X-linked Alport syndrome and missense mutations will only be determined with clinical trials.

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